New text message service to report train rants

 
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Commuters who witness anti-social behaviour on trains will be able to alert police to incidents by text from today.

Police hope passengers will be more likely to report trouble if they are able to text details rather than speaking to police on a phone.

The move comes after a series of incidents when videos have been posted on YouTube showing travellers in drunken rants against fellow passengers.

British Transport Police believe many low level incidents go unreported with passengers being too scared or embarrassed to be seen or heard dialling 999.

Deputy Chief Constable Paul Crowther said: “Text messaging is a quick and everyday way to communicate and we know passengers want to be able contact us this way.

“By encouraging passengers to also report incidents via text, we hope we’ll get a more complete picture of the sort of low-level but all too common incidents that affect people’s journeys across the network.”

Last year BTP recorded a total of 5,706 incidents of anti-social behaviour on trains and Tubes while in London police received 86,000 calls on a non-emergency phone line about incidents on railways and Overground and Tube stations.

A number of incidents have been recorded on video and posted online.

One drunken woman passenger on the Underground became an internet sensation after hurling racist abuse at fellow Tube travellers. 

Jacqueline Woodhouse, 42, who was jailed for 21 months last year, ranted at passengers on the Central line, telling those seated near her: “I used to live in England and now I live in the United Nations.”

Other incidents include a couple fighting on a train from Charing Cross to Orpington and a young woman filmed shouting and slapping passengers on a train from London after a night out.

Police say passengers should use the text number 61016 for non-emergency incidents because there is no guarantee that they will be received quickly.

They point out that the number may not be of use on the Underground where phone reception is limited.

Officers were handing out details of the text number at London stations today.

DCC Crowther added: “Low-level anti-social behaviour, which we know occurs on trains often later at night and when people have been drinking, is undoubtedly under-reported. “Passengers tend to accept or ignore the minority who make the journeys unpleasant for everyone else.”

“We hope that the ease of being able to send a quick text message will encourage more passengers to report incidents when they occur. By building up a more accurate picture we can better focus our resources.”

The 61016 text number will be monitored 24/7 and will help police investigations and police say they will dispatch officers to incidents if needed.

Jacqueline Woodhouse, from Romford, was sentenced to 21 weeks last May over this racist rant on the Central line which was posted on YouTube. Commuters can now report similar incidents to police by text.

Warning: Explicit language.

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